


Safe Haven

by Bulletproof_love



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Break Up, Caretaking, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23876638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bulletproof_love/pseuds/Bulletproof_love
Summary: Mike turns to his father in the aftermath of his break up.
Kudos: 8





	Safe Haven

Of all he places he could have ended up Mike wasn’t sure how he’d managed to drive all the way to his Dad’s house. He understood the logic; his father’s home was a safe haven, a place of comfort for him.

The rain was pattering on the windows as he hunched in the SUV, hands clenching the steering wheel despite the fact he’d turned the engine off over fifteen minutes ago. He knew he’d done the right thing, he reassured himself.

All the pressure had been building up inside him for over a year and a half now and finally he’d had the chance to speak his mind. He wasn’t sure what he’d been more afraid of, her leaving or him not being strong enough to leave her.

It had taken a long time for him to figure out his wife wasn’t putting in a hundred percent into their marriage. He couldn’t believe how he didn’t see it, but now he was more than willing to admit that the relationship had been almost completely one sided from the very onset.

He still loved her and deep down he knew he would always love her, but he couldn’t be with her. They couldn’t co-exist together anymore because the partnership had evaporated. The best thing he could do would be to let her go; he hated the fact he hadn’t realized how trapped she felt by the confines of marriage and if he was honest he wasn’t sure he’d have cared even if he had.

Taming her had been a challenge, something that he’d had to work for and he knew that was part of the attraction. All the women before her had come easy and even if they hadn’t he’d decided they weren’t worth his time. She had been different, there had been something so alluring about her despite the fact they had tried to stay friends.

He would miss her, he concluded. He’d miss everything about her, her silky skin, the way her eyes shone when she laughed, the way her fingers combed through his hair absentmindedly sometimes when they were watching TV. But he knew this was for the best.

He couldn’t live with her, knowing that she, they even, were unhappy.

Mike took a deep breath before opening the car door and stepping out, pulling the hold all behind him. The weight of the world seemed to rest on his shoulders.

By the time he’d made it to his father’s door he was soaked through, the rain streaming down upon him before he ducked into the porch. He could feel it dripping down his face as he pounded twice on the door. It was late but his father was a night owl, he’d be up, watching the highlights of the game or reading a book.

The light flicked on in the hallway, Mike felt his heart quicken as the oak door opened and he found himself staring into a matching set of bright blue eyes.

William was overshadowing the doorway, reading glasses in one hand, holding them by his mouth and an Ernest Hemingway book in the other.

“Mikey?” he said surprised, taking in his son’s withdrawn expression.

“I think it’s over Dad,” Mike replied hoarsely, answering his father’s unspoken question.

“Let’s talk inside,” the older man murmured, holding the door open for his oldest son.


End file.
